Andre Villas-Boas on borrowed time at Chelsea as Guus Hiddink looms on horizon

Sources close to the Russian billionaire last night suggested that he may now have lost patience with Villas-Boas and was considering making a change less than seven months after appointing the 34 year-old.

Nevertheless, Chelsea continued to insist that it was business as usual at the club and that there were no plans to change manager. But Guus Hiddink’s continuing availability – and Fabio Capello’s sudden availability – has not gone unnoticed in some quarters.

Hiddink was in the running to succeed Carlo Ancelotti after the Italian was sacked last summer before Abramovich decided he wanted to make more dramatic changes at Chelsea and personally selected Villas-Boas.

However, with Chelsea fifth in the Premier League, after two wins in 10 matches and struggling for form, Abramovich has let both Villas-Boas and the first-team squad know in no uncertain terms that performances have not been good enough.

As revealed by Telegraph Sport, he met with the manager and players at the club’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey, on Sunday after a day off was cancelled following Saturday’s defeat at Everton.

The meetings, following a week of Abramovich observing training sessions at Cobham, have, rightly or wrongly, left the impression with several Chelsea players that the manager is on borrowed time.

Up until the end of last week it appeared that Abramovich’s backing for Villas-Boas remained rock-solid despite a difficult campaign in which the Portuguese has, at times, struggled to get his ideas across.

Abramovich has previously told Villas-Boas that he has full faith in him and that the club are embarking on a three-year plan — the length of the manager’s contract — to create a “new Chelsea”, overhaul the squad and adopt a more attacking style of play.

Abramovich would stomach not winning the Premier League title this season as long as he sees signs of progression.

However, Chelsea must not finish outside the top four and fail to qualify for the Champions League and there is now fear that the team are on a downward trend that Villas-Boas may be unable to arrest.

As things stand, according to sources, he is likely to remain in charge of Saturday’s fifth-round FA Cup tie at home to Birmingham City with next Tuesday’s Champions League tie away to Napoli also looming. If he fails to negotiate those matches successfully then it would pile the pressure on as they represent Chelsea’s last chances of winning trophies.

If Villas-Boas is replaced it would be a harsh decision, despite the run of form and the underperformance of the squad, with Chelsea leaving themselves once again open to accusations of a knee-jerk response.

Abramovich, however, has the final say on all major decisions. His presence at the training ground last week was due to him having free time in his schedule — his High Court case with Boris Berezovsky has finally finished — but unfortunately for Villas-Boas it has coincided with the poor run of form with the disappointment of throwing away a 3-0 lead against Manchester United followed by the Everton defeat which the manager said was the worst performance of the season.

Abramovich is not an infrequent visitor to the training ground and held a similar clear-the-air meeting during Ancelotti’s first season following the Champions League exit to Inter Milan.

Chelsea went on to win the league and FA Cup double but, at the same time, damage was done to Ancelotti’s authority and he went at the end of the following season.

If Abramovich decides to make a change it may be that he turns to Hiddink again to perform a similar, interim role to the one he executed so successfully after Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked in February 2009.

Hiddink, who has been linked with Russian club Anzhi, enjoys a strong friendship with Abramovich and is unlikely to turn down any offer.

It is understood that Abramovich has been reluctant to replace Villas-Boas and has had faith in his ability to turn things round. But he will not let Chelsea slip out of contention and results have put the manager in a vulnerable position.